Remember Spirograph? Yes! You need to play with this. No! You need to play with this…

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
drawing-machine
The Spirograph is one of the coolest retro toys. The drawing tool lets you create mathematical curves – technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids – and is the best of British. It was invented by Denys Fisher back in 1965. He was also the guy who came up with Stretch Armstrong. Now you can get the same effect on the Web with Cycloid Drawing Machine, an automatic version that you can set off drawing by switching through a series of presets. Trust me, it’s mesmerizing. ➤ Cycloid Drawing Machine [via Waxy.org] Read next: Try this fun new way of sharing your favorite…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1gGTWsF
Read More

Sorry turns your service’s outages into opportunities

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
Screen Shot 2015-08-14 at 10.16.31 AM
Each week we’re profiling one company that has been selected for Boost – our early-stage startup growth program. Catch up with these companies in person at The Next Web Conference in New York on November 18. You probably don’t think about a company’s status page until your favorite app stops working, then it’s often a pain to actually get information on what’s going on. Sorry is here to help out. It helps companies get an attractive status page up and running so they can communicate with users when something goes wrong. The service integrates both with your current website and social media, so users can be…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1TACDGf
Read More

Robinhood arrives on Android to save users from high stock trading fees

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
Robinhood Android
Stock trading service Robinhood has launched an Android app that lets users buy and sell stocks in the US, at no extra charge. Previously available only on iOS, the new app lets users view their portfolios and track stocks with historical market data and charts. Robinhood says it encrypts all your personal information using SSL. It also lets you secure the app with a custom PIN code, so others can’t snoop around your trades without your knowledge. The company says its community has already transacted over $1 billion and saved more than $22 million in trading commissions. It’s also working…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1MrxAZG
Read More

Buffer now lets you schedule video uploads to Facebook, Twitter and more

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
Buffer for Video
Social media management service Buffer has launched a new feature that lets users create and schedule video posts for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+. Buffer for Video users only need to upload their clips a single time to schedule publishing on their social media networks of choice. The posts appear natively on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, so they look right at home wherever you choose to share them. On Pinterest and LinkedIn, Buffer will add a link that directs viewers to its hosted video player. The company says it’s exploring support for custom thumbnails. The new feature supports MP4, MOV…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1TACFxV
Read More

Slack for iOS updated with new search features and a ton of bug fixes

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
SlackiOSUpdateTNW
Slack for iOS has been updated, and adds a ton of new features while squashing more bugs than we care to count. A new search feature lets you tap on a search result to jump straight to the corresponding message, and admins can now invite new users via the app. The new search (Search 2.0, thank you very much) also lets users long-press on search results to star or copy the text. For the emoji fanatics, you can now type +:emoji: to add your favorite emoji as a reaction to a message — just like the desktop. Long-pressing a reaction…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1HJBLIn
Read More

Fitbit launches universal app for Windows 10

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
fitbit-10
Fitbit, maker of wearable activity trackers, today launched a new Windows 10 universal app, which is now available free on the Microsoft store. Redesigned using the new Windows 10 interface design guidelines, the app supports such Windows 10 features as Cortana voice commands and Continuum. Notifications are now pushed to the Notification Center while Activity updates are shown on the Live Tile, as they were with the previous version of the app. The dashboard provides detailed information about your daily routines, and quick actions enable activity tracking and logging. In the past, Fitbit been available for Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1DO6Pft
Read More

Microsoft Word 2016 is getting collaborative editing for OneDrive files

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
Preview-real-time-co-authoring-on-OneDrive-3-border-1024x342
Microsoft will now let you collaborate on Word files stored on OneDrive using the desktop Office 2016 suite. While real-time co-authoring has been available in for Office Online since 2013, Office 2016 will be the first traditional version of the productivity suite with real-time collaboration support. If you and your teammate are currently previewing Office 2016, you can try it out by storing a Word document in OneDrive, and giving both users editing permission. Word will then prompt you to automatically share your changes. Once both authors accept, they’ll be able to see a colored cursor indicating where the other…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1PnPVFv
Read More

This app automatically picks you up in an Uber and takes you to a mystery bar

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
Screen Shot 2015-08-13 at 4.55.09 PM
Up for an adventure but can’t decide where to go? This app randomly picks a top bar on Yelp, picks you up in an Uber and takes you there — without you knowing the destination. Bar Roulette uses the Yelp and Uber APIs to find a place to go and doesn’t tell you until you arrive. It’s one of the first cool integrations I’ve seen using the Uber API that I’d want to try out. The app only picks “highly rated” bars within a certain radius and even checks if the bar is open before taking you there. It’s just…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1JfxzHR
Read More

With a nearly a million raised, Sonar gives businesses the power to text

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,
Sonar Phone
The future of technology may be hidden somewhere in our past. As real estate on our phone screens becomes more scarce, the idea of downloading proprietary apps for certain services seems excessive. And although mobile browsing is a good option, many websites or services work shoddily with phones and practically demand a desktop. Seeking an alternative way to reach customers, more companies are turning to SMS to get it done. One company facilitating this movement is Sonar, a platform designed to help businesses text their customers and vice versa. The company just secured a $960k seed round, led by QuestVP with…

This story continues at The Next Web








from The Next Web » Apps http://ift.tt/1h6D27u
Read More